Chapter 374: Gerald Lauder

"She… could never hurt me."

There was a static; a crackle in the air that continuously repeated itself, almost turning into a hum. It was coming from the outer layers of Xinyan's skin; there was some sort of sizzle, or perhaps a whisper-- a whisper of two opposite forces intertwining with each other.

Surtr was currently covering Xinyan's body with a heat high enough to counteract the seemingly endless mist of ice that fumed from her body. Surtr had to maintain this temperature, as going just even a tiny bit higher would probably burn Xinyan's skin.

Even if Xinyan was conscious, she wouldn't feel any pain from this; perhaps some sort of jolt, but that was it.

It was a different matter entirely, however, for the one touching her. The crackles that were humming in the air were tiny bits of explosion, even smaller than the width of a single strand of hair. Billions of them exploding outwards without pause as the two opposing elements continue to fight with each other.

Even for Gerald, whose skin was almost impenetrable even by the sharpest of blades the 9 Realms had to offer; these tiny bits of explosion that numbered billions was enough to penetrate and devour his flesh bit by bit.

But still, not once did his eyes falter as his gentle embrace tightened-- never wanting to let go of the woman he had not been able to embrace in years.

"...I can't heal the both of you, brat," Latanya then slowly approached the two; her voice slightly carrying a soft tone.

"Just focus on her," Gerald said without any hesitation, his eyes still locked on Xinyan's face, "Please… just focus on her."

"...Alright," Latanya then let out a sigh, before crouching and pointing her palms towards Xinyan, "I am going to start. Flame boy, don't make any unnecessary shifts."

"This is as easy as breathing for me, Queen of the Vanir."

"Hm. I already gave up that title," and with those words, Latanya's hands started to glimmer. And as Xinyan's body began to glow, a smile slowly started to crawl on Gerald's face.

"We… we're finally going to meet again, my love," Gerald whispered as he once again caressed Xinyan's face. But as soon as his hand reached to her chin, the light that surrounded Xinyan disappeared.

"Is that it? It's done?" Gerald then excitedly breathed out as he looked back and forth between Latanya and Xinyan's faces. And with Surtr stepping a few steps back, the humming in the air, as well as the echoing pain around his arms had also disappeared.

"Hey… hey, wake up," Gerald let out a chuckle; his tears, falling and trailing on Xinyan's cheeks.

And for once, his tears weren't frozen in time. For almost a hundred years, he had been bringing Xinyan to different Realms, searching for a way to free and save her from the frozen confines she was imprisoned in.

Gerald no longer knew how many times his skin was ripped from his flesh as he carried the burning mass of ice on his back.

He no longer knew how many wizards, witches, and healers he had met.

He no longer knew how many he had to kill to find a safe place for him to protect Xinyan.

He lost his city; he lost his friends, and he lost his brother. But all of those didn't matter to him-- he had his whole world literally on his back. As long as Xinyan was there, nothing… no one else matters.

"It's me, my love. Please…

Please wake up."

...But she never did.

Seconds.

Minutes.

An hour. No matter how many times he called for her, Xinyan… never woke up.

"...She's gone, Gerald."

"W… what? What do you mean?" Gerald's eyes finally strayed away from Xinyan's face as he turned to look at Latanya. And as he did so, he noticed that most of the people in the room were gone.

With the ones remaining only Latanya, Vanya, and Van.

"Where… where did Surtr go?"

"Xinyan is gone, Gerald."

"What do you mean? She… she's right here," Gerald let out a small chuckle as he stood up, gently lifting Xinyan in his arms, "Heal her… Heal her!"

"There… is nothing to heal," Latanya then said, her voice almost a whisper, "She was already… dead when I tried to heal her. I truly am sorry for your loss, Gerald."

"Wait… where are you going?" Gerald then once again chuckled as Latanya turned around to leave, "We're not done here… 

...We're not done here!"

The trees outside, which already carried a solemn beat as they waved their leaves, became even more melancholic as Gerald's roars seemed to echo throughout the 9 Realms. His roar was powerful, but yet one could not help but take all of it in as the sorrow it contained was something one can not ignore.

Once again, Gerald roared as he gently and carefully rested Xinyan's head onto his chest; if this was what it took for his tears to finally be able to move again, then perhaps it probably would have been better to be frozen in time.

"...Gerald."

"You!"

Vanya was about to place her hand on Gerald's shoulder, but before she could do so, the warmth in Gerald's voice completely disappeared as he turned his head towards her.

"You told me she was alive!"

"I… I felt her through the ice. I thought--"

"You thought wrong!" Gerald screamed, "You… you let me hope that there was a chance to… to--"

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And before he could finish his words, a roar once again escaped from his mouth as his knees fell to the ground; and yet, Xinyan remained gently resting on his shoulder.

"..." Van, who was watching from the side, could only close his eyes as he took in a short but deep sigh. He could probably say something, but it wasn't his place to do so. This was a moment for Gerald to grieve, and the best thing he could do was give him the tiny sliver of peace it held.

"Let's go, Vanya," Van then said as he made his way outside.

"..." Vanya, however, did not move from her spot as she remained standing by Gerald's side.

A second.

A minute.

An hour.

Moments passed, and she stood there as Gerald's fettered and hallowed breaths echoed throughout the empty hall.

"...I truly did feel her, Gerald."

"How… how does that even matter now?"

"It matters to her," Vanya then said as she closed her eyes, "The ice that continued to grow from inside her was the last bit of her essence. Her memories; her soul; her whole existence… her love. They were trying to reach you, Gerald."

"..."

"Her love for you… transcends even death," Vanya then once again tried to place her hand on Gerald's shoulder, and this time, he did not resist.

"..." Gerald then felt a warm trickle slowly drowning his body as Vanya's hand started to glow. It was a familiar warmth, a warmth that was able to stop his tears as it wrapped his whole body with comfort-- an embrace.

"This is what I felt through the ice, Gerald. Even in death, she refused to let go of you."

"Huk," tears once again seeped from Gerald's closed eyes as all the memories he shared with Xinyan flashed before his mind. The memories of her embrace… an embrace he will never be able to feel again.

"I…" Gerald then stuttered as he looked at Xinyan's face, "I… am so sorry, Xinyan. I… I couldn't hear you. But I'm ready… I am ready now. I… I'm ready…

...I'm ready to let you go."

***

"Van, can I make a request?"

"...What is it?"

Van, who had been waiting outside the hall for more than an hour, could not help but contain a slight hesitation in his voice as he saw Gerald carrying Xinyan out.

"This 10th Realm I keep hearing about ever since you returned… Can I go there?"

"...You're not going to help Harvey with the war?"

"No. I want to bury her there."

"Hm?"

"I want to bury Xinyan in a place as far away as possible from the war. A place where she could truly rest in peace, it was what she would have wanted."

"...Okay. You're free to come with us. But I can't promise the 10th Realm would be free of war. There's… a bigger force coming to this world, and probably the biggest war it'll ever face will head directly to us."

"I… will take any moments of peace I can have with her."

"...It might take a while for us to find a floating world, will… she be okay?"

"I will ask Miss Elton to encase her in ice for now."

"...Is that alright with you?"

"Yes."

"Then come with me. We're about to choose the first world we're going to check, you might as well be in the meeting if you're going to be one of its first inhabitants. Miss Angela is also there, I'll tell her about your request."

"Van… I'm sorry."

"...What?"

"The first time we met, I did something very horrible to you. Something a child never should have experienced. You have been through so much, and I added to it."

"You might have actually done me a favor for what you did, Gerald. And besides, I probably would've died in the Relic Graveyard either way if you didn't do what you did. Let's go, they are waiting for us."

"And Van…"

"Hm?"

"Thank you. Thank you for keeping your promise and bringing Latanya."

"...There's no need to thank me, what I did was useless in the end."

"No. Thank you…

....thank you for setting us free."

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